Posts tagged “gaming”

The Canadian seal hunt is again under way, that started on the 10th April 2013 that regrettably and most shockingly will see many hundreds of seal pups no older than two to three weeks old beaten over the head with a pick fork then left to die slowly in agony choking to death on their own blood and mothers milk.

There is no justification for such barbaric and senseless inhuman and inhumane slaughter that the Canadian government should know better than to allow this continues yearly blood fest to carry on just to fill the Chinese and Eastern European market “not non-Eastern European” with baby skin pelts leaving the floating ice ridges and caps a mess with blood and dead flesh.

Europe banned the imports of seal pelts and any form of seal meat from Canada of which the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Ministry is now trying to overturn from which we and other organisations will not allow protesting and communicating at the highest level to spreading awareness and education of this disgusting and repulsive trade that Canada calls conservation.

General History

Seal hunting is currently practiced in six countries: Canada, where most of the world’s seal hunting takes place, Namibia, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia. Canada’s largest market for seals is Norway (through GC Rieber AS) listed here http://www.gcrieber.no/ GC Rieber is a private company that operates within the fields of marine oils, pelts, salt including for agriculture and nutrients.

The seal hunt though is slowly but surely coming to an end although the Canadian government are fighting to keep it alive there is now over 95% less trawlers and hunters moving out onto the ice flows to kill of which should the fight to preserve out aquatic seals a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals continue then we will eventually win this barbaric and bloody war preserving Mother Nature’s finest aquatic sea life.

Harp seal populations in the northwest Atlantic declined to approximately 2 million in the late 1960s as a result of Canada’s annual kill rates, which averaged to over 291,000 from 1952 to 1970. Conservationists demanded reduced rates of killing and stronger regulations to avert the extinction of the harp seals.

In 1971, the Canadian government responded by instituting a quota system. The system was competitive, with each boat catching as many seals as it could before the hunt closed, which the Department of Fisheries and Oceans did when they knew that year’s quota had been reached. Because it was thought that the competitive element might cause sealers to cut corners, new regulations were introduced that limited the catch to 400 seals per day, and 2000 per boat total. A 2007 population survey conducted by the DFO estimated the population at 5.5 million just knowing these numbers are so high is nauseating.

It is illegal in Canada to hunt new born harp seals (white coats) and young hooded seals (blue backs) however the Humane Society of the United States has many times proven that the sealers are violating these rules time again that see’s many two to three week old pups bludgeoned over the head in what can only be described as a brutal and vicious bloody beating leaving the seal in extreme prolonged pain just for it’s for that can fetch up to $60.00 each on the market.

The main “weapon” used to beat then drag the seals to by their skin to waiting vessels just to be skinned alive is known as a hakapik which is more or less a club, of Norwegian design, used for killing seals. The hakapik is roughly around 1 or 2 meters in length that’s produced using the wood of oak, teak, or strong pine depending on what the sealer requests when purchasing form hunting stores.

There has been much confusion over the hakapik with some “activists” and even sealers quoting that it is banned this not necessarily true. The Canadian government in 2009 was ordered to clean up its act regarding the brutalization of the seal using this medieval “tool of the trade”.

Sealers were forbidden to use the hakapick on seals more than a year old who have not already been shot”, however again this is not always the case, and as the pressures are there to meet killing quotas along with the sealers being hit finically hard then the hakapick will be used wherever possible.

Monitoring the hunts is not always as easy as one may think, with shifting ice flows, the fast pace at which the sealers move, and the hunt carried out in remote land then policing this law set out in 2008-2009 and the misuse of this weapon on 2-3 week old seal pups is not as easy as it looks. The Humane Society has documented many times the deaths of 2-3 week old pups that have been beaten senseless then left to suffer for one to two hours if not more before finally succumbing to death via chocking or skinned alive.

Canada also issued new regulations for its annual seal slaughter, banning the skinning of live seals and forbidding the use of the spiked weapon called a hakapik on seals over one-year-old, again this law is being flouted by the sealers that reside in remote villages with little evidence of any one sealer being brought to justice for violating these rules. It was also quoted that some seals are killed with a single blow to the head using a wooden club or hakapik again as one can view in the videos provided this is untrue.

American veterinary scientists actually suggested that the hakapik was the most professional tool used to slaughter seals. They quoted on the use of the hakapik on the seal hunt carried out on Pribilof Islands of Alaska suggested that it is an “efficient tool designed to kill the animal quickly” and (humanely) when used correctly. A report by members of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association in September 2002 confirmed this claim.

We know that the sealers are now feeling the pinch of regulations and nations that are turning their back on Canada’s sick and repulsive tradition. 2009 not one pelt from that years’ Nunavut seal kill sold at the 2009 Toronto auction says the Northern News Services as the European Union considered then implemented a full ban on all seal products. Canadian officials then vowed to clean up the seal hunt by banning the use of the club with a hook on one end called a hakapik “on seals more than a year old that have not already been shot.” That’s 11,000 pelts, counting that year’s unsold inventory, which were “taken” for no reason.

Sealers are not the only ones feeling the pinch of the law implemented in 2010 by the European Union Finland’s infamous fur farmers are also feeling the crunch from low demand and low prices Pirrko Rantanen-Kervinen of the Finnish Fur Sales Co. Ltd explained to the Helsingin Sanomat Farmers are placing pelts in freezers to wait for better times and wondering if “there is any point” at selling at depressed prices. So we are winning but we still have a long push ahead of us to now ban this ridiculous and nauseating hunt for consumer greed. Photos of bloody pelts and animals struggling in traps have not done much for fur’s image too.

Neither do stories of the actress Lindsay Lohan being flour bombed in Paris for wearing fur or the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame belonging to actresses Sharon Stone, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and singer Aretha Franklin being defaced with “fur hag.”

But just as damaging to the fur “brand” is when it leaves its Town and Country context and appears as bling on hip-hop musicians in neon blue bomber jackets.

Climate change is also having a knock on effect in reducing the sales of seal fur as of the “warmer winters” which is a good factor although not so on the rest of the aquatics and land mammalians that consequently suffer from climate destruction, that being the Polar Bear, Artic Fox, and Artic Hare too that are unfortunately being pushed into nearing extinction every year as the earths temperature heats up thus melting ice caps and flows on a rapid basis and increasing marine and fresh water levels.

Harp Seal;

Harp seal (Pagophilus, or Phoca, groenlandica), also called saddleback, medium-sized, grayish earless seal possessing a black harp-shaped or saddle-shaped marking on its back. Harp seals are found on or near ice floes from the Kara Sea of Russia west to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada. The harp seal is both the best-known and among the most abundant of all seal species. Worldwide, the total population of harp seals is estimated at nearly 7.5 million animals, which are separated into three distinct populations. The largest population (approximately 5 million animals in 2000) inhabits the north-western Atlantic and breeds both near the coast of Newfoundland and within the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The second largest population occurs in the vicinity of the Barents Sea, numbers between 1.5 million and 2 million animals, and breeds on the ice-covered White Sea in northwest Russia. The smallest population (approximately 300,000 animals) inhabits the area between Norway’s Jan Mayen Island and the eastern coast of Greenland, and its mating grounds are mainly located near Jan Mayen Island. Each population is considered by some authorities to be a separate subspecies.

The colloquial names for harp seals vary by age and coloration. At birth, pups are known as “whitecoats” because of their pure white pelage. This stage lasts approximately two weeks. The subsequent growth of dark hair under their white fur produces a grayish coloration, and they are called “graycoats.” Once the white coat is completely shed, the seals become gray with dark spots and are often referred to as “beaters” because of the sound made by their tails as they learn to swim. At 13–14 months of age the seals molt again, and their spotted pelt remains. At this stage they are called “bedlamers.” The transition from bedlamer to adult coloration arrives with the onset of sexual maturity, which usually occurs at four or five years of age.

Harp seals spend most of their lives in the water, though some have been known to ride bits of drifting sea ice for short distances during migration. All harp seals must come up on land or ice to give birth, rear their young, and molt. From late February to March, seals relocate to the southern limit of their range to breed and give birth.

Pups are born on the short-lived seasonal platform of pack ice. Each female gives birth to only one pup; twins are extremely rare. Pups weigh 11 kg (24 pounds) at birth, but they lack the thick layer of blubber present in adults. Instead, they are insulated by their thick fur and obtain energy from their mothers’ milk, which is rich in fat. During their 12-day nursing period, pups gain about 2 kg (4.4 pounds) per day of blubber, which allows them to attain a weight of approximately 36 kg (79 pounds) at weaning. Weaning is abrupt as females stop nursing their young in order to mate with males. During this time, since the pups do not feed for up to six weeks, they may lose over 50 percent of their body mass. Eventually, hunger motivates the pups to enter the water and start feeding on their own.

Average-sized adults of both sexes measure 1.8 metres in length (6 feet). Male harp seals typically weigh 135 kg (300 pounds), females weigh 120 kg (265 pounds), and the largest adults may reach 180 kg (400 pounds). The face of an adult harp seal is completely black, while the gray coloration of its body is accented by a black harp-shaped marking on its back. Adults typically hold this coloration between five years of age and the end of their lives. The maximum life span for the harp seal is 35 years.

Adult seals mate either within the water or on top of ice floes. When fertilization occurs, the egg develops into a blastocyst, which floats freely within the uterus for four months until it implants itself in the uterine lining for active development. This delay in implantation stretches gestation time to 11.5 months and effectively postpones the birth of young to the period when enough pack ice is available to act as a whelping platform.

Harp seals are not strong divers compared with other seal species. Their maximum dive depth is 370 metres (1,200 feet), and they may stay underwater for only 16 minutes before resurfacing. Though they consume a wide variety of prey, their diet is centred on small fishes such as capelin (Mallotus villosus), Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), or polar cod (Arctogadus glacialis). They also eat numerous invertebrates. Contrary to popular belief, harp seals rarely consume the commercially important Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Polar bears (Ursus maritimus), killer whales (Orcinus orca), and large sharks are the natural predators of harp seals.

Proven history of neglect;

Canada has a proven history of neglecting the environment & of ignoring valid scientific information. The Canadian government claims that a wild population of a species is healthy until the moment that harvesting is no longer profitable. It is only after the economic advantage of a hunt is lost and that the population is decimated that the government chooses to protect an endangered species by that time its beyond preservation and this is why the European Union must never allow ban on the sales of any seal products to be lifted.

Beluga Whales – In 1982 Canada left the IWC which is the International Whaling Commission. The Canadian government had been repeatedly warned about the unsustainability of whaling, yet the government neglected to stop this practice.

As taken from the Government of Canada’s website below are statistics about the ‘harvest’ of Beluga whales.

The total cumulative numbers of belugas caught for commercial purposes, uncorrected for sunken animals, were about:

9,000 in western Hudson Bay (1949-1970);

9,900 in eastern Hudson Bay (1752-1916);

14,500 in the St. Lawrence Estuary (1868-1960).

The current population of Belugas in the St Lawrence Estuary is approximately 1000 which are less than 10% of the original population prior to whaling. 1000 is far from a healthy population size, especially considering that Belugas are one of the most susceptible species to environmental pollution. Many whales have to be disposed of as toxic waste due to the high level of pesticide and chemical contamination.

The Hudson Bay area fared a little better, the current population there is estimated to be 25000. This still means that 50% of the population in this area was wiped out.

The global Beluga population has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened species since 1994. Yet Canada still allows 800 Beluga whales to be harvested annually by aboriginals. This is why Canada is one of the few developed countries that is not a member of the IWC.

Clearly Canada has failed Beluga whales, but Belugas have been lucky compared to other whales.

Humpback Whales – ‘These giants of the deep are slow swimmers—making them easy targets for whalers in the first half of the 20th century. They were killed by the thousands for their blubber. Now protected, humpback populations have grown to nearly 20,000 worldwide—about 20 per cent of their original numbers. Roughly 2,000 live in the northern Pacific today. But the protections must be maintained to ensure the long-term survival of this majestic species.’

The above quote has been taken from the government of Canada’s website. What the government of Canada’s website buries near the bottom of its page is that Humpbacks had been protected by the IWC since 1955, regardless of this the Canadian government continued to allow humpback whaling for an additional 10 years. This was 10 years after world opinion had indicated that the Humpback was endangered and should be protected at all cost. Whaling did not cease until 1965. The population was so low that it was not economically feasible to continue whaling this species.

Fin Whales – At least 7605 fin whales were taken by the province of British Columbia between 1908 and 1967.Fin whales dine primarily on Capelin Stock which is a fish species that crashed in the 1980s due to over fishing. On the eastern side of Canada the ‘harvestable’ population near Nova Scotia was 1600 animals in 1964. In 1973 it was reported that only 325 members still survived in this area.

Before whaling the North Pacific Fin Whale population was estimated at 45000. By 1975 this number declined to 8000.The fin whale is now highly endangered and is protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA)

Other Whales – The whales listed above are some of the healthiest in population. Blue Whales at one time numbered 200 000 in the worlds ocean. Canada helped to reduce this number to 6000. Canada also participated in the hunting of the Right Whale, Bowhead Whale, Gray Whale, Sei Whale, Minke Whale, Killer Whale (also known as Orca Whale) and other whales. Clearly the point has been made that Canada practiced whaling until it was impossible to continue doing so.

Polar Bears – The polar bear population is threatened by global warming. This is due to melting ice. Canada has refused to sign the Kyoto protocol which would commit them to lowering the emission of greenhouse gases. Polar bears also suffer from high levels of PCBs and other chemical pollution. Canada has refused to effectively monitor corporations and force them to reduce the level of pollution and chemicals that are released.

Canada sells up to 700 polar bear hunting licenses annually. These are sold to trophy hunters. The meat is not used. The sole purpose of the hunt is for a trophy, and this only serves the very wealthy and the Canadian government in collecting additional taxes. ( For more information concerning this please visit our sister website ( Stop Polar Bear Hunting ) The current polar bear population is estimated to be as low as 22 000 which classifies this species as ‘threatened’. It’s not until this species becomes endangered that the hunting quotas will be reduced. Canada likes to wait until a species is nearly extinct prior to taking protective action.

Other Species – According to the committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada, there are currently 516 plant and animal species at risk in Canada. Another 13 species are all ready extinct. Canada does nothing to halt the spread of pollution, to prevent ongoing habitat loss, or to attempt to reverse climate change. One of the major factors behind many species in Canada becoming endangered is due to over harvesting and excessive trade.

Over Harvesting – Once plentiful due to over harvesting these species are now extinct: Passenger Pigeon, Great Auk, & Eskimo Curlew.

Harp Seals – Canada claims that the seal hunt is needed otherwise the seal population will grow out of control. This is the same rhetoric that is used for hunting deer, and any wild population. Truth is Canada ignores reports that are economically counterproductive. Reports about the collapse of the cod industry were predicted 30 years in advance, but these reports were ignored. If there is an endangered species in Canada, odds are this species was hunted for economical purposes

An over population of seals oddly enough was never considered a problem until it was discovered that ‘culling’ the seals could be profitable. The seals are not used for food. No one eats seals in Canada except for aboriginals, and they hunt their own seal and have nothing to do with the commercial seal hunt. Sealers like to bring up the fact that aboriginals eat seals to confuse people. They pretend that aboriginals and the commercial seal hunt are the same. They are not.

When Canada was discovered there was an estimated seal population of 30 million. The most optimistic estimate of the current population numbers it at less than 20% of that. If this is the case then the overpopulation reasoning is a hoax. Who decides what a population should be? Is 500 million humans too many? What about 6.5 billion? The human population is predicted to hit 9 billion in 2050.

Picture above is what the Sealers use to slaughter 2-3 week old pups – Hackapick

The current population for 2013, stands at a whopping 8.1 billion so 2050 is VERY out of the equation.

Assuming there is an ‘out of control’ seal population of 5 million which is a very optimistic number that is thrown around by sealers, then what of it? The web of life is interconnected; predators and a healthy environment will work to keep a population in check without human intervention. The intervention of the Canadian government in the past has caused nothing but endangered and extinct species. A more reasonable estimate is that the population is at 2 million.

In Summary – The Canadian government with the aid of sealers likes to misuse information. They throw words around like aboriginals, sustainability, and culling in order to confuse the public and to distract them from the fact that the seal hunt is simply there to earn money. It is politically popular in Eastern Canada to hunt seals. To oppose this hunt or to pass legislation against it would lose votes. For people who hunt and for their families this is a voting issue. For the rest of Canada it isn’t.

Commercial sealers do not consume seal meat. They are not aboriginals. They do not live traditionally. They live like the rest of North Americans. They have houses, garages, automobiles, and super markets. The idea that they are protecting a way of life is foolish. The idea that they need to make a living is ridiculous. They have the same opportunities as anyone else. You can bet if the whale population was high they would continue to practice whaling, or if the polar bear still survived in that area of Canada they would continue to hunt it.

One argument of desperation that they like to use is the following. Apparently environmental organizations like to publicize the seal hunt in order to collect donations. It should be noted that all of the reputable organizations are run by individuals who are committed to saving wild populations and ending needless animal suffering. They would love for this issue to be over with, there are other problems such as polar bear hunting, whaling, endangered wild cats, the loss of rain forests, pollution, road side zoos, and bear farming, to worry about.

Sealing is done for one reason and one reason only. Greed. Sealers hunt seals to earn money. The seal is used exclusively for the fashion industry. New products are subsidized by the Canadian government but these are never profitable. One example would be seal oil capsules. Seal pelts are sold to high end fashion houses. Seals are killed for money and for fashion. Any mention of culling, aboriginals, traditional life, and eating are simply invalid arguments.

People are always willing to believe that an atrocity is reasonable if it happens in their backyard. Sealers believe it’s all right to kill seals for fashion because they need to make a living. Kenyans also believe that it’s all right to kill elephants for money, Rwandans believe it’s all right to kill Mountain Gorilla’s because they need to earn a living, and the Japanese believes it’s all right to hunt whales for money. There’s a trend here and the above examples could go on for pages. The main difference is that Canada is one of the most developed and wealthy countries in the world and there is no need for savagery.

Predictions on when the slaughter of seals will end are listed below;

The annual bloodbath that comprises the largest kill off of marine mammals in the world, the Newfoundland seal “hunt” (a misnomer if ever there was one), is now upon us again.

For years, world leaders including Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, scores of international stars (going back to that famous photo of Brigitte Bardot cuddling a seal on the ice), and multitudes of people whose blood runs cold seeing a cudgel raised to a baby seal have implored the Canadian government to end the annual slaughter.

One bumper sticker read, “If you aren’t outraged, you aren’t paying attention,” but everyone was outraged — except the Canadian government, which has stalwartly defended the seal slaughter and gone to great lengths to find a market for the pelts that no one wants and that many countries, including the U.S., will not accept within their borders. Now even Canadian lawmakers might finally be listening.

While Member of Parliament Ryan Cleary says that it’s the “official” position of the New Democratic Party to support the seal hunt, he is now questioning whether it should continue. “Part of our history is also whaling, for example, and the day came when the whaling industry stopped,” he said a few days ago. “Now, is that day coming with the seal hunt? It just may be.”

Cleary points out that Canada is drawing massive worldwide criticism for an industry that only earned $1 million last year, almost the same amount that must have to be paid to throw the rotting pelts in warehouses, given the fact that almost anyone you ask would rather be seen dead than in a sealskin anything. Thanks to videotapes that have increased awareness of how sealers hook baby harp seals in the eye, cheek or mouth so as not to damage the fur and drag them across the ice alive or beat them to death with a club that has a spike or sharp nail on one side of it, the markets for seal products are slamming shut faster than Stephen Harper’s door on a PETA protester. Just last month, Russia, Canada’s largest seal-pelt market, followed the lead of the U.S. and European Union and banned the import of sealskins. “We know that the world appetite is not there for seal meat, but the world appetite for seal products — I don’t know if it’s there,” said Cleary. “And you know what? I may be shot for talking about this, and for saying this, but it’s a question we all have to ask.”

And while Cleary is coming under heavy fire from greedy sealers and certain politicians who are beholden to them, Canadian residents who oppose the cruel slaughter (and they are the majority) are dancing a jig. Responding to the controversy in a news release, Cleary said, “We cannot hide behind the debate and pretend that the market for seals is not in trouble. Facing this reality head on is the only way to address this situation.”

Every February, as the seal slaughter draws near, I think of these words of the Chinese poet Su Tung-P’o: “Life passes like a spring dream without a trace.” Soon, I hope, the seal mothers will no longer have to endure what must be a spring nightmare, seeing their pups’ lives battered into oblivion, the “trace” being the line of blood on the ice that leads from bludgeon site to commercial vessel. That will change if more forward-thinking MPs find the courage to join Cleary and suggest to their colleagues that there are more ethical and savoury ways to make a living.

The Harp seal slaughter will eventually come to an end but we need everyone and anyone that is against it to now ensure that the remaining 5% of what Canada calls “tradition” is now wiped out. Harp Seals do not and ever have reduced Cod stock in the sea. Mass human over obsessive consumerism is reducing cod and other marine stocks.

The end of Canada’s annual baby seal slaughter is near. Over the last few years, all major markets have banned seal-fur imports, including the U.S., the European Union, Mexico, Taiwan, and even Russia, which had been importing 95 per cent of Canadian seal pelts. There are no remaining markets for seal fur—the only reason the Canadian government continues to defend this dead industry is because political parties crave Newfoundland’s swing seats in Parliament. But as this editorial shows, even local sentiment is turning, and lack of markets has led Canadian officials to seriously examine whether the slaughter should end.

Boycott the following and continue to boycott until this disgusting and barbaric cruelty is finished.

Who to Boycott:

1) Avoid all Canadian seafood. This is to apply economic pressure to Canada. Some of the largest consumers of Canadian seafood are Red Lobster, Long John’s Silvers, and Costco. All of these companies should therefore be avoided.

2) Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd society is calling for a boycott of Costco. Costco sells seal oil capsules. Costco has refused to remove these from their shelves. We fully endorse this decision.

3) Avoid traveling to Newfoundland. This is to apply economic pressure to this province.